Russian and Syrian delegations met to discuss new projects including a power plant in Damascus and the modernization of a dam in Latakia.

Russian and Syrian economic delegations discussed new projects including a new power plant in Syria's capital and the modernization of a dam in the western Latakia province, Russia's Ministry of Economic Development said in a release.

Russia's trade with Syria grew by 58 percent in 2014 after shipments of Russian wheat, corn and rice were reinstated. The new talks take place as Syria continues its conflict with Islamic State fighters and members of the armed opposition. Syria's internal conflict put a pause on the implementation of most projects previously developed by Russian companies, according to the release.

"A key topic of the consultations was the discussion of questions of implementing the most prospective projects in Syria, currently in a high level of study and suggested for implementation by the commission's co-chairmen," the release said.

In 2014, Russian-Syrian non-military trade grew to $594.3 million, while before the conflict it amounted to $702 million in 2009.

Russian-Syrian infrastructure projects including oil and gas extraction, pipelines, and animal feed plants have been put on pause after the armed conflict began.

The Syrian government is in talks with Russia and Belarus on new loans to boost economic development. Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi expressed hope that Russia would positively respond to the request.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – The Syrian leadership is discussing the possibility of new loans from Russia and Belarus to boost economic development in the country, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi told Sputnik.

“We are continuing talks with Russia and Belarus on new credit lines to help us meet the production demand and create new opportunities to boost the domestic market and the economic process [in the country],” the prime minister said.

Halqi expressed hope that Russia would positively respond to the request from the Syrian government and would support the Syrian position "to cope with the brutal attacks which include the unjust economic sanctions imposed by the West."

The prime minister added that a new agreement between Syria and Iran in the humanitarian sphere, as well as in the oil and gas industry was also signed today.

Damascus and Moscow are also in talks on the possibility of the accession of the Arab Republic to the Eurasian Economic Union and a free customs zone, he added.

"Talks are being held with the Russian side on [Syria’s] joining the Eurasian [Economic] Union and free customs zone. We see this as a benefit and the strengthening of relations with friendly states, which would facilitate economic and trade interactions with them,” Halqi said.

Moscow and Syria have signed a number of agreements on the construction of gas processing plants, irrigation facilities and electrical substations, the prime minister said. In 2013, the two countries reached a deal on the development of Syrian coastal oil fields by Russian partners, he added.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is an international organization, which streamlines the movement of goods, services, capital and labor between Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The Kyrgyz government signed an accession treaty to the EEU but the move has not yet been ratified by all the current members of the union.

The Syrian government hopes an agreement with Russia will be reached to allocate funds for the construction of the Tishreen-3 power plant, Russia’s Ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak said.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – Syria hopes to receive substantial financial assistance from Russia for the construction of the new Tishreen-3 thermal power plant near the country’s capital, Damascus, Russia’s Ambassador to Syria said.

"As a pilot project, I would point out, if we manage to come to an agreement about the allocation of funding for the construction of the new thermal power plant Tishreen-3… the Syrians hope that we will be able to provide a significant portion of the required funds," Alexander Kinshchak said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

In late June, a Syrian delegation discussed this issue while on a visit to Moscow, he added.

Russia had previously participated in the building of the Tishreen-1 power plant in the 1980s and 1990s, the ambassador said.

Aside from the Tishreen project, Russian companies are involved in other major projects in Syria, a case in point is Russia's Stroytransgaz, which signed a contract for the implementation of the first phase of the Tigris River irrigation project in 2014.

Another Russian company, Sovocrim, has already started constructing four mills in Syria. The contract is worth approximately $17.5 million. Construction of the first mill is almost finished.

The anti-ISIL airstrike campaign Russia is conducting in Syria may not have been possible if not for the close and complicated relationship between the two countries.

Russia's military aid and anti-ISIL airstrike campaign in Syria is part of a friendship between the two countries stemming back to Syria's independence.

While the current Russian operation in Syria may be unprecedented in Russia's newest history, the two countries have enjoyed a long military and economic relationship which fostered ties that made the current operation against ISIL militants possible.

Anti-Colonial Roots

Russia was one of the first countries to recognize Syria in 1944, when the country declared independence from the French Mandate and still had foreign troops on its territory.

The first military contacts began after 1955, when the Baghdad Pact, later CENTO, was established. Meant to be a sort of Middle Eastern NATO, it stretched from Turkey to Pakistan and was aimed at containing the USSR in the region. The organization steadily fell apart by 1979 when Iran's Shah was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution.

The USSR began military cooperation with Syria the following year, when the threat of a CENTO invasion appeared imminent, with Baghdad Pact countries massing troops on Turkey's Syrian border. Military maneuvering by the US and USSR eventually created the risk of an all-out war between the two superpowers, but was eventually settled in this little-known episode of the Cold War.

Cold War Politics

The USSR also heavily invested in Syria's economy, building its oil sector practically from scratch and later developing such infrastructure projects as the Tabqa and al-Baath dams near Raqqa, several major factories and multiple rail links.

The Soviet Union also gave considerable loans to Syria for the development of its state-owned industry sector, although figures suggest that Syria bought most of its industrial equipment at the time from West Germany.

Syria's 1982 conflict with Israel, during the Lebanese Civil War was a major point of cooperation as Soviet air defense forces made an unexpected offensive during Operation Kavkaz-2. Arriving in Tartus on January 10, 1983, Soviet forces clandestinely moved S-200 air defense systems to the Homs and Damascus areas over the following two months, surprising US and Israeli air forces and effectively ending Israel's unchecked airstrikes in Syria and Lebanon.New Beginning

While Russian-Syrian ties effectively ended after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's economic rise in the early 2000s and Bashar Assad's economic liberalization allowed for new oil and weapons contracts. The weapons contracts later proved vital to Syria as they kept the country supplied with arms throughout the crisis which began in 2011.

Tatneft, Soyuzneftegaz and Stroytransgaz were among the companies performing oil exploration and building oil refineries and pipelines. Tatneft began drilling oil in Syria in 2010, although the armed conflict that began the following year led it to suspend the operation.

Bashar Assad called on Russian businesses to intensify their cooperation with Syrian companies.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — President Bashar Assad proposed on Sunday that Russian business, including oil companies, should actively cooperate with Syria and expressed hope Russia would help rebuild the war-torn country, a member of a Russian delegation in Damascus said.

"[Assad] specifically underlines that in rebuilding Syria the Syrian people rely on Russia's help. [He] proposes all companies to cooperate with Syria," Russian Communist Party member Alexander Yushchenko told RIA Novosti.

Sergei Gavrilov, also a Russian delegation member in Syria, said Assad expressed hope Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin would visit Syria to help the government cope with water supply problems, humanitarian aid extension and development of oil and gas fields.

"Damascus is ready to export more than 700,000 tons of citrus fruit to Russia to “fill the gap” left by Moscow’s ban on Turkish agricultural products, AFP reported, citing officials in Damascus. “We are preparing some 700,000 tons of citrus, mostly oranges, to send to the Russian market,” Fares Chehabi, head of Syria's Chambers of Industry, said on Tuesday. He added that the first shipment was already on the way to Russia and that other Syrian goods, such as textiles would also be exported. Moscow’s ban on Turkish goods could help Syrian producers expand business in the Russian market, according to the head of the Damascus Chamber of Industry Samer Debes. He said Syrian businessmen are to visit Moscow soon to “examine the chances of cooperation after the sanctions that Moscow imposed on Ankara.”

Egypt has also expressed an interest in replacing Turkey in the Russian market. Cairo has asked Moscow to provide it with the list of banned Turkish goods, saying it was ready to export Egyptian products to Russia.On December 1, the Russian government signed a decree prohibiting imports of food from Turkey and banning charter flights between the two countries. The embargo came as a response to Turkey shooting down a Russian warplane in Syria last month."

The appearance of Russian troops in Syria has affected small businesses in Latakia

French online newspaper «L'Orient du Jour» published an interesting material in the spirit stories of the 1980s from the Soviet Union, about how trade and services sectors in the Syrian Latakia reacts to the emergence there of Russian customers.

In the window of his shop in the city of Latakia Ihab replaced bottle of local alcoholic drink arak bottles of vodka and learned a few Russian words, such as "thank you" to communicate with the Russian soldiers who arrived on the orders of Moscow.

For residents of this town in north-west Syria, emergence of Russian soldiers who came to the defense of the regime of Bashar al-Assad militants, was a real success, since the war, running from 2011, that destroyed the economy and scared away tourists.

According to Ihab, 32-year-old manager of his father's small shop in the region, the support of the ruling regime, where the majority are Alawites, "before in asking first was whiskey and arak. But with the arrival of Russian vodka has taken their place. "

Ihab, like others of his countrymen, began to teach the Russian language to communicate with their "new friends" and create their convenience when shopping. Ihab notes that "this is a real manna from heaven, our sales increased by 20%, and Russian buy without bargaining. They have a right to be served out of turn, and at times we give them gifts. "

For decades, Moscow and Damascus maintain a special relationship in the economic, political and military cooperation. Russian Navy has its base in Tartus, some Syrian officers were trained in Russia. Since the end of September, Russian planes used Hmeymim air base in Latakia, which hosts several thousand people to bomb.

In the store of military uniforms, the Russian flag hanging on the wall. Mohammed is happy arrival of Russian soldiers, so sales were up 70%. According to him, the Russian military is literally ripped from the hands of small portraits of Assad that he offers them. "They have become our friends, if they come here, they welcome us," - said the 26-year-old store salesman who knows a few words in Russian.

But Aidar in early December opened in Lattakia restaurant "Moscow". At the entrance waving the Russian flag. Menu is written in Russian, and 29-year-old owner of the institution hired a teacher of Russian language training. "I am a cook who can prepare dishes of Russian cuisine. I printed a new menu and leaflets in Russian, "enthuses restaurateur. "The Russian market is stirred up, and always bring with them a revival, day and night."

"Thank you, thank you," said Aidar fondly Russian customers coming out of the restaurant. However, this concern annoying Syrian army soldier sitting at the table, who found it "unnecessary." "We are at war for almost five years and I've never seen a restaurant" Syria "and" Syrian army "," - he begins to boil.

But even before the Russian intervention in the conflict, which claimed the lives of 260 thousand. Man Latakia residents were grateful to her for political support. In the cafe "Moscow" opened in 2012, its owner refuses to take money from Russian clients. "They came to protect us! At the very least, you can take them in my cafe. " According to him, the name of his establishment he chose after the "first veto" Russia imposed on the UN Security Council resolution in support of the Syrian regime. "Before the intervention there were Russian advisors, but they were few. Now visitors come from Russia every day, "says the 30-year-old young man.

Lighting a cigarette from the lighter with the emblem of the Russian army, he wants to convey the message of Russian President Vladimir Putin, affectionately nicknamed by many Syrians, "Abu Ali", "Tell Abu Ali Putin that if he comes in Latakia, he has a place to stay: the cafe" Moscow " This is his house. "

George1 wrote:The appearance of Russian troops in Syria has affected small businesses in Latakia

French online newspaper «L'Orient du Jour» published an interesting material in the spirit stories of the 1980s from the Soviet Union, about how trade and services sectors in the Syrian Latakia reacts to the emergence there of Russian customers.

In the window of his shop in the city of Latakia Ihab replaced bottle of local alcoholic drink arak bottles of vodka and learned a few Russian words, such as "thank you" to communicate with the Russian soldiers who arrived on the orders of Moscow.

For residents of this town in north-west Syria, emergence of Russian soldiers who came to the defense of the regime of Bashar al-Assad militants, was a real success, since the war, running from 2011, that destroyed the economy and scared away tourists.

According to Ihab, 32-year-old manager of his father's small shop in the region, the support of the ruling regime, where the majority are Alawites, "before in asking first was whiskey and arak. But with the arrival of Russian vodka has taken their place. "

Ihab, like others of his countrymen, began to teach the Russian language to communicate with their "new friends" and create their convenience when shopping. Ihab notes that "this is a real manna from heaven, our sales increased by 20%, and Russian buy without bargaining. They have a right to be served out of turn, and at times we give them gifts. "

For decades, Moscow and Damascus maintain a special relationship in the economic, political and military cooperation. Russian Navy has its base in Tartus, some Syrian officers were trained in Russia. Since the end of September, Russian planes used Hmeymim air base in Latakia, which hosts several thousand people to bomb.

In the store of military uniforms, the Russian flag hanging on the wall. Mohammed is happy arrival of Russian soldiers, so sales were up 70%. According to him, the Russian military is literally ripped from the hands of small portraits of Assad that he offers them. "They have become our friends, if they come here, they welcome us," - said the 26-year-old store salesman who knows a few words in Russian.

But Aidar in early December opened in Lattakia restaurant "Moscow". At the entrance waving the Russian flag. Menu is written in Russian, and 29-year-old owner of the institution hired a teacher of Russian language training. "I am a cook who can prepare dishes of Russian cuisine. I printed a new menu and leaflets in Russian, "enthuses restaurateur. "The Russian market is stirred up, and always bring with them a revival, day and night."

"Thank you, thank you," said Aidar fondly Russian customers coming out of the restaurant. However, this concern annoying Syrian army soldier sitting at the table, who found it "unnecessary." "We are at war for almost five years and I've never seen a restaurant" Syria "and" Syrian army "," - he begins to boil.

But even before the Russian intervention in the conflict, which claimed the lives of 260 thousand. Man Latakia residents were grateful to her for political support. In the cafe "Moscow" opened in 2012, its owner refuses to take money from Russian clients. "They came to protect us! At the very least, you can take them in my cafe. " According to him, the name of his establishment he chose after the "first veto" Russia imposed on the UN Security Council resolution in support of the Syrian regime. "Before the intervention there were Russian advisors, but they were few. Now visitors come from Russia every day, "says the 30-year-old young man.

Lighting a cigarette from the lighter with the emblem of the Russian army, he wants to convey the message of Russian President Vladimir Putin, affectionately nicknamed by many Syrians, "Abu Ali", "Tell Abu Ali Putin that if he comes in Latakia, he has a place to stay: the cafe" Moscow " This is his house. "

The Russian ambassador mentioned the operation of the pipeline laying company Stroitransgaz

MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russian businesses have been expanding the portfolio of contacts in Syria for the post-crisis period, with participation in building a large water pump facility on the Tigris River featuring prominently on the list of likely projects, Russian ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak told TASS in an interview.

"In defiance of the objective hurdles, first and foremost, the lingering problems in the field of security, business contacts in Russia and Syria are continuing," he said. "Moreover, a number of remarkable joint projects were launched of late."

As an example Kinshchak mentioned the operation of the pipeline laying company Stroitransgaz. "It managed to avoid curtailing operations in the most troubled period and keeps expanding its contracts portfolio for the future," he said. "Various options are being considered with a view to the post-crisis period for getting involved in more large-scale projects, for instance, the construction of a large water pump facility on the Tigris River," he said.

Kinshchak said that the period of preparations for such contracts normally lasted several years.

"I believe that the situation in the country will be stabilized by then and security matters settled," he said.

The Russian embassy furnishes the required support for Russian companies in advancing contacts with Syrian partners.

"I use this opportunity to urge Russian businesses to take more active steps. This is the best time to launch operations in Syria," he said.

Crimean State Council chairman Vladimir Konstantinov told journalists that he welcomes the statement of the Syrian leadership on recognition of Crimea part of Russia and believes it to be the start of the process of legalization of the 2014 referendum results.

"We are ready for contacts and are contacting now all reasonable people across the world and are trying to bring home our position. And the fact that the Syrian parliament heard us is only the beginning of the process of legalization of our referendum," Konstantinov said.

Member of the Russian State Duma’s international affairs committee, deputy secretary of the United Russia ruling party’s General Council, Sergey Zheleznyak said Syria’s recognition of the Russian status of Crimea testifies to "special partner-like relations" between Damascus and Moscow, who are "jointly fighting international terrorism".

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russian, refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities brought to power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification deals March 18, 2014.

According to the Crimean and Ukrainian statistics bodies, as of early 2014, Crimea had a population of 1,959,000 people; Sevastopol has a population of 384,000 people.

Work to integrate the Crimean Peninsula into Russia’s economic, financial, credit, legal, state power, military conscription and infrastructure systems has been actively underway since Crimea acceded to the Russian Federation.